iBasso T3(D) vs. Nuforce Icon Mobile - Page 3

Mrarroyo.
I just wanted to say, "Thank you" for recommending the t3 for me. I almost got another amp and am so glad I didn't. I'm blown away by this little guy.

thank you so much

Headphone addict - have you posted impressions of the T3 vs the Shadow for IEMs anywhere yet?

Don't have a Shadow to compare, but my P-51 sounds very much like a Shadow and it is my best portable amp, until my Pico Slim arrives. There is no comparison and the P-51 is better than the T3 in every way.

Thanks so much for the in-depth reviews. My question is just something a lot more basic. Is there a difference between the T3 and the T3(D)'s? From the iBasso website, they look essentially the same, and I haven't really been able to find any sort of definite differentiation on the forums.

The T3D has a digital volume control, which is essentially a "rocker switch", not a potmeter. This should prevent the imbalance issues that can sometimes occur with analogue pots. Besides this, they are identical.

@HeadphoneAddict

What do you think about T3 and T4 amps, with Fuze + Triple.fi's? Which will be better with my rig?

I think, Triple.fi's are a little bright earphones and I'm looking for better mids especially, secondary is soundstage and last things; strong bass and treble spectrum.

Any suggestions?

My son has claimed my T4 as his own around the time I got the Triple.fi over Xmas (daughter couldn't get the TF to fit right), so I don't recall what the combo sounded like. But I tried the Triple.fi with the T3 and thought it made the TF too forward in the mids for my tastes, but otherwise it wasn't bad sounding (good bass and treble). Blutarsky tried it one day at the coffee shop and liked the W3 better. This was with 5G Nano, as I don't have access to a fuse. I think the T3 would be more detailed with the TF 10 Pro, and don't think the T4 would be my choice.

Thanks for response..

I think, I'll go to T3 with a resistor adapter.

I've noticed the IE8's sound better coming out of my macbook pro than it does coming from my ipod touch (doesn't sound as clear), and I've been wondering if an amp would help. For what it's worth, on both the ipod and macbook, I have the EQ turned off.

Based off what you said, it sounds like the Nuforce would be a good pair with the Senn IE8's... especially out of an 3g ipod touch.

Only with my ALO Amphora did the IE8 sound fantastic, and with most other amps or ipods they sounded bass heavy and recessed in the mids and highs. However, the Nuforce Icon Mobile did make the IE8 listenable to me, as did the Vivid V1. Those were about the only amps that would let me enjoy the IE8. And, the IE8 doesn't need a bass-lite amp so much as it needs one that drives them properly with good synergy when combined. So, you should be safe with Nuforce and IE8.

Ohh ok. I was under the impression that I needed a bass-lite amp that had a brighter sound to it to help balance my IE8's, since to me, it seemed that the treble seemed a bit veiled and the bass was just right (to me, because I LOVE bass), but your explanation makes sense. I'll take a look into the Vivid V1 and the Nuforce some more. Did you run the amps out of the headphone jack of the ipod/iphone, or did you buy a Line Out Adaptor to bypass the ipod/iphone amp as well?

Thanks alot for the info, HeadphoneAddict! One comment about your amp review/comparison thread is that it has ruined my life, because I didn't start looking into buying an amp until that thread and now my wife is onto me about my evil plans, which she is very unhappy about after I just spent $300 on the IE8's. LOL.

Yeah, neither Amphora, V1 or Nuforce are bass-lite amps. I run them via USB DAC or line-out from iMod.

The V1 and Nuforce are a little colored sounding, but no more than other $99 amps. Both do brighten up the IE8 and both have more forward mids than some other amps, which make them less enjoyable with Grados for me. I felt the V1 was a little better with IE8 and HD600, but the Nuforce was better with Denon D2000 and Edition 9. Both worked well with ESW10 and a variety of IEM.

I have no idea why the Amphora is such a better match for IE8, because it's also good with a wide variety of very different sounding full size phones like Grado RS-1/HF-2, Denon D2000 and D7000, Ultrasone Edition 9 and Sennheiser HD600/800. With the Amphora there was one day that I forgot I was listening to my IE8 and I thought I was listening to my ES3X for a few minutes. That surprised me very much. They actually didn't sound exactly alike, but the way the IE8 became so engaging and vivid and detailed took me by surprise.

The T3 is good with HD600 surprisingly if you don't like to blast them too loud, and also JH13Pro, UE11Pro and ES3X, but I didn't have it before I sold the IE8 so I couldn't try the IE8 on it. I'd still bet the T3 is better with IE8 than the T4, but I can only guess about it. I've been using the T3 with my 5G Nano and custom IEM for mobile, as I think it is more portable than all my other amps and fits well in my pants pocket. I wish I could have tried IE8 with it so that I could advise people about the combo - a good reason why I hate selling stuff.

which is better overall :

Ibasso D2+ Boa or NuForce Icon Mobile

NuForce? iBasso? geting confused